South Korean workers released after days of detention in Georgia return home

More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in the United States last week were brought back home on a charter plane on Friday.

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They were among about 475 people detained during the Sept. 4 immigration raid at a battery factory under construction on the campus of Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant west of Savannah. Their roundup and the U.S. release of video showing some Korean workers shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and waists have caused public outrage and a sense of betrayal in South Korea, a key U.S. ally.

TV footage showed the charter plane, a Boeing 747-8i from Korean Air, landing in Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, on Friday afternoon. The footage later showed workers, some wearing masks, passing an arrival hall, with senior officials including presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik clapping hands. One hugged Kang.